Amid rumors that Joaquin Phoenix has backed out of his planned gay romance film with Todd Haynes, a new report suggests Phoenix nearly left Napoleon before Paul Thomas Anderson got involved.
Napoleon's Hat Was His Best Friend (feat. Joaquin Phoenix)
According to a recent report from THR, it's not new for Phoenix to get "cold feet" before starting a project. The report notes that the legendary actor is "known" for being nervous about projects and reportedly threatened to walk away from production on Ridley Scott's Napoleon altogether if filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson didn't come on board to help with rewrites.
Anderson is not listed as a writer on the project, so it's unclear what (if anything) he had a hand in rewriting the film. The Hollywood Reporter also reports that the producing community has been pushing to have Phoenix prosecuted for leaving Haynes' project.
In September 2023, Todd Haynes revealed that he was developing a "sexually explicit film" that would tell a "love story between two men set in the 1930s." Phoenix had been cast as one of the men, while Captain America: Brave New World's Danny Ramirez was tipped to play the other in July 2024.
